{"id":1315,"date":"2009-09-17T21:21:38","date_gmt":"2009-09-17T12:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-09-17\/1315"},"modified":"2009-09-17T21:21:38","modified_gmt":"2009-09-17T12:21:38","slug":"a-bit-of-paragliding-in-kyotos-northern-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-09-17\/1315","title":{"rendered":"A Bit of Paragliding in Kyoto’s Northern Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nComing In for a Landing<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Earlier in the month I posted about our trip to the\nToganojaya\nRestaurant<\/a> in the mountains of north-west Kyoto. After having lunch and\na bit<\/span> of\nplay at the river below it<\/a>,\nwe continued on a drive<\/span> deep into the mountains. We drove<\/span> for hours, but never left Kyoto City\nproper.<\/p>\n\n

At one point we saw a paraglider descending, so we cut off the main\nroad, through a small<\/span> settlement, and found the landing spot just as one\nwas coming in. We could<\/span> see a half<\/span> dozen other paragliders in the air, so\nstuck around to watch for a while.<\/span>..<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nD700 + 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm, heavily cropped — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSmooth Ride<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n“X” Marks the Spot<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPartner in Flight?<\/span>\nAt the edge of the mowed circle, above the paraglider, is a bird<\/span> of prey coming in for a landing<\/span> as well\n<\/div>\n\n

It was a paraglider school\/club landing zone, and while we watched, we\nchatted with one of the paragliders, a guy<\/span> who had been doing it for 20\nyears. (Most of the dozen or so people we saw were well into their middle\nages and retirement age; the guy seen landing above looked to be about 60\nor so.)<\/p>\n\n

They take off from the top of a nearby<\/span> mountain (here<\/a>) and flights run from anywhere between 15 minutes to\nsix hours. I suppose<\/span> that the limiting factor is wind to some extent, and\none's bladder to a greater<\/span> extent.<\/p>\n\n

Anthony was inspired for some Curious George paraglider play, using my\nfloppy I-hate-the-sun hat as George's chute. Anthony liked to try to catch\nGeorge, while I lifted<\/span> George up and down...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCapture George!<\/span>\nPhoto by Fumie M. Friedl<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHey, There's One Taking Off<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGeorge Paragliding Play is Fun!<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I had the bright idea to throw George and my hat up, to see whether it\nwould catch some air and come down a bit<\/span> slower than a brick,<\/span> and indeed,\nit caught a whole<\/span> lot of air when a well<\/span>-timed gust of wind picked it up\nand brought the pair into the thick, prickly weeds on a steep<\/span> bank next to\nthe road...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGeorge Flys Out of Frame<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDaddy Feels Stupid, Attempts Retrieval<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

In the end, George was able to return safely.<\/p>\n\n

The guy I'd talked to told us about a practice<\/span> area nearby, inviting us\nto come and watch students learn. We stopped<\/span> by later but found the\nhillside deserted, but did see a house<\/span> that looked like it'd be more at\nhome in Austria than Japan....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 98 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\npretty, but\nJust a Bit<\/span> out of Place<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Behind it, peeking through some evergreens, was a much<\/span> more Japanese\nstyle mountain building, with a thick<\/span> thatched roof...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSlice of Authenticity<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nReady for the Winter<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I see that bolts were used in the heavy cross members used in the\nconstruction of the weight that holds the top set of thatching down, so\nit's not old or anything, but still pretty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier in the month I posted about our trip to the Toganojaya Restaurant in the mountains of north-west Kyoto. After having lunch and a bit of play at the river below it, we continued on a drive deep into the mountains. We drove for hours, but never left Kyoto City proper.<\/p>

At one point we saw a paraglider descending, so we cut off the main road, through a small settlement, and found the landing spot just as one was coming in. We could see a half dozen other paragliders in the air, so stuck around to watch for a while...<\/p> [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}